Stories about South Asia from November, 2009
Bloggers Remember TEDIndia: The Good, the Bad and the Quirky
When the legendary TED conference came down to India, Indian bloggers were understandably excited. Some of the bloggers participated in the event and Gaurav Mishra was one of them. In this post he compiles a roundup of bloggers reactions to the TEDIndia 2009 conference, which took place earlier this month in Mysore, India.
India: The State Of Mumbai Airport
“Mumbai airport has to be the worst that exists in any major city in the world. With two runways that crisscross each other, arrivals and departures are severely constrained,” comments Rajesh Jain at Emergic.
Nepal: Maoist Protests Disrupt Life In Kathmandu
“Many people in Kathmandu who were affected by the traffic jam caused by the Maoists today expressed their anger in personal conversation and twitter even as ex-rebels sang, danced and recited poems while picketing at the front gate of the central administrative complex of Nepal,” reports United We Blog! for...
Sri Lanka: The General Resigns
The Chief of Defence Staff of Sri Lanka General Sarath Fonseka has resigned today and speculations are high that he will run for presidency in the next election as a candidate of a newly formed opposition alliance. Sri Lankan Bloggers weigh in on the situation.
India, Pakistan: Animosity Despite Similarities
Mohammad Yusha at Chowrangi wonders why Indians and Pakistanis fight each other at every possible opportunity. He points out that there are more similarities than differences between them.
India: Impressions Of TED India
Amit Varma at India Uncut shares his impressions of TED India, which he attended: “The conference itself was immaculately organised, and the kind of people I got to meet awed and humbled me. It was, if I may lapse into cliche, the experience of a lifetime.”
Sri Lanka: E-Swabhimani Awards
Chulie de Silva writes about the E-Swabhimani awards organized by the Information Communication Agency (ICTA), which honors Sri Lanka’s digital content developers/producers. The blogger also highlights some of the nominated projects.
India: Climate Change And The Role Of Government
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) volunteer Nicola Macnaughton opines that the Indian government’s lack of involvement in tackling climate changes “raises serious concerns about equity, justice, and human rights in a country which is widely acknowledged as the world’s ‘largest democracy’.”
India: Dalai Lama And The Relationship With China
Kochuthresiamma at ParelTank comments on Dalai Lama's visit in Arunachal Pradesh and India's relationship with China: “Too many things have been happening between India and China in the past few months – the incursions, the dam, issuing separate visas to Kashmiris by China, protesting against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit...
China: Sino-Indian tension and Dalai Lama
China Matters has an article looking into the Sino-Indian tension against the background of Dalai Lama's recent visits to Tawang and Nepal.
India: Women Farmers Stand Against Climate Change
A group of women in India have demonstrated that despite the existing gender inequity and their low economic status, they can become a powerful resource to tackle climate change and reduce the emissions that cause it.
Sri Lanka: Support The IDPs
V.V. at Sepia Mutiny writes about an initiative of a Sri Lankan diaspora group in the USA who are organizing a fund raising event. The fund will support two charities which are working in the Sri Lankan IDP camps, where approximately 200,000 people are detained.
India: Delhi Metro Rail Project Is Not A Solution
Ram Bansal at India In Peril opines that the Delhi Metro Rail “is not going to solve any problems of Delhi but going to make it the most unsafe city in the world.”
Maldives: Girl Slaves
Codexero dicusses about girl slavery in Maldives.
Sri Lanka: Tariff Protection
Going Global criticizes Sri Lankan government's protective tariff on some agricultural items which are increasing the prices and the cost of living.
Bangladesh: DST Woes
Bangladesh introduced daylight saving time this summer but is not rolling back to the old time this winter. This has created much debate in the country and Rumi at Unheard Voice has details.
India: Barring Foreign Journalists
“In barring foreign journalists from going to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to report the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama’s week-long visit to the northeastern State which China off and on claims as its own, has the Manmohan Singh government thumbed its nose at India’s great democratic traditions?” asks Sans...
Pakistan: Shanaakht Festival
Faisal Kapadia attended the Shanakht Festival in Karachi and writes: ‘I would recommend all of you to hurry and catch a glimpse of a side of us not often on show, plus its totally free folks!!”
India: Sharing Expenses And Gender Equality
Nita J. Kulkarni at A Wide Angle View Of India raises a debate on whether a working couple should share the financial burden equally. She comments: “I believe that this issue of women being reluctant to share their income is more about personalities rather than anything else.”
Pakistan: Devoted To Pomegranate
Owais Mughal at All Things Pakistan celebrates Pakistan's important fruit species pomegranate and its influence on art, literature, language and poetry.
Bangladesh: Mobile Phone And The Teenagers
An Ordinary Citizen argues that mobile phones are changing the lifestyles of the younger generation in Bangladesh. This is affecting the students, who “are more interested to be unnecessary indulged in useless gossip/chat for hours together, keep themselves aloof from the family and immediate surroundings”.
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